Automated Identification of Coronal Holes from Synoptic EUV Maps

Coronal holes (CHs) are regions of open magnetic field lines in the solar corona and the source of the fast solar wind. Understanding the evolution of coronal holes is critical for solar magnetism as well as for accurate space weather forecasts. We study the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) synoptic maps at three wavelengths (195 Å/193 Å, 171 Å and 304 Å) measured by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory/Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SOHO/EIT) and the Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (SDO/AIA) instruments. The two datasets are first homogenized by scaling the SDO/AIA data to the SOHO/EIT level by means of histogram equalization. We then develop a novel automated method to identify CHs from these homogenized maps by determining the intensity threshold of CH regions separately for each synoptic map. This is done by identifying the best location and size of an image segment, which optimally contains portions of coronal holes and the surrounding quiet Sun allowing us to detect the momentary intensity threshold. Our method is thus able to adjust itself to the changing scale size of coronal holes and to temporally varying intensities. To make full use of the information in the three wavelengths we construct a composite CH distribution, which is more robust than distributions based on one wavelength. Using the composite CH dataset we discuss the temporal evolution of CHs during the Solar Cycles 23 and 24.     

Type-II Bursts in Meter and Deca – Hectometer Wavelengths and Their Relation to Flares and CMEs: II

Solar coronal holes (CHs) are large regions of the corona magnetically open to interplanetary space. The nearly rigid north?–?south CH boundaries (CHBs) of equatorward extensions of polar CHs are maintained while the underlying photospheric fields rotate differentially, so interchange magnetic reconnection is presumed to be occurring continually at the CHBs. The time and size scales of the required reconnection events at CHBs have not been established from previous observations with soft X-ray images. We use TRACE 195 Å observations on 9 December 2000 of a long-lived equatorial extension of the negative-polarity north polar CH to look for changes of ??5 arcsec to >?20 arcsec at the western CHB. Brightenings and dimmings are observed on both short (≈?5 minutes) and long (≈?7 hours) time scales, but the CHB maintains its quasi-rigid location. The transient CHB changes do not appear associated with either magnetic field enhancements or the changes in those field enhancements observed in magnetograms from the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) on SOHO. In seven hours of TRACE observations we find no examples of the energetic jets similar to those observed to occur in magnetic reconnection in polar plumes. The lack of dramatic changes in the diffuse CHB implies that gradual magnetic reconnection occurs high in the corona with large (??10°) loops and/or weak coronal fields. We compare our results with recent observations of active regions at CHBs. We also discuss how the magnetic polarity symmetry surrounding quasi-rigid CHs implies an asymmetry in the interchange reconnection process and a possible asymmetry in the solar wind composition from the eastern and western CHB source regions.     

Synoptic Solar Cycle 24 in Corona,Chromosphere, and Photosphere Seen by the Solar Dynamics Observatory

The Solar Dynamics Observatory provides multiwavelength imagery from extreme ultraviolet (EUV) to visible light as well as magnetic-field measurements. These data enable us to study the nature of solar activity in different regions of the Sun, from the interior to the corona. For solar-cycle studies, synoptic maps provide a useful way to represent global activity and evolution by extracting a central meridian band from sequences of full-disk images over a full solar Carrington rotation (≈?27.3 days). We present the global evolution during Solar Cycle 24 from 20 May 2010 to 31 August 2013 (CR?2097?–?CR?2140), using synoptic maps constructed from full-disk, line-of-sight magnetic-field imagery and EUV imagery (171 Å, 193 Å, 211 Å, 304 Å, and 335 Å). The synoptic maps have a resolution of 0.1 degree in longitude and steps of 0.001 in sine of latitude. We studied the axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric structures of solar activity using these synoptic maps. To visualize the axisymmetric development of Cycle 24, we generated time–latitude (also called butterfly) images of the solar cycle in all of the wavelengths, by averaging each synoptic map over all longitudes, thus compressing it to a single vertical strip, and then assembling these strips in time order. From these time–latitude images we observe that during the ascending phase of Cycle 24 there is a very good relationship between the integrated magnetic flux and the EUV intensity inside the zone of sunspot activities. We observe a North–South asymmetry of the EUV intensity in high-latitudes. The North–South asymmetry of the emerging magnetic flux developed and resulted in a consequential asymmetry in the timing of the polar magnetic-field reversals.     

Automatic Detection and Classification of Coronal Holes and Filaments Based on EUV and Magnetogram Observations of the Solar Disk

A new method for the automated detection of coronal holes and filaments on the solar disk is presented. The starting point is coronal images taken by the Extreme Ultraviolet Telescope on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO/EIT) in the Fe ix/x 171 Å, Fe xii 195 Å, and He ii 304 Å extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lines and the corresponding full-disk magnetograms from the Michelson Doppler Imager (SOHO/MDI) from different phases of the solar cycle. The images are processed to enhance their contrast and to enable the automatic detection of the two candidate features, which are visually indistinguishable in these images. Comparisons are made with existing databases, such as the He i 10830 Å NSO/Kitt Peak coronal-hole maps and the Solar Feature Catalog (SFC) from the European Grid of Solar Observations (EGSO), to discriminate between the two features. By mapping the features onto the corresponding magnetograms, distinct magnetic signatures are then derived. Coronal holes are found to have a skewed distribution of magnetic-field intensities, with values often reaching 100?–?200 gauss, and a relative magnetic-flux imbalance. Filaments, in contrast, have a symmetric distribution of field intensity values around zero, have smaller magnetic-field intensity than coronal holes, and lie along a magnetic-field reversal line. The identification of candidate features from the processed images and the determination of their distinct magnetic signatures are then combined to achieve the automated detection of coronal holes and filaments from EUV images of the solar disk. Application of this technique to all three wavelengths does not yield identical results. Furthermore, the best agreement among all three wavelengths and NSO/Kitt Peak coronal-hole maps occurs during the declining phase of solar activity. The He ii data mostly fail to yield the location of filaments at solar minimum and provide only a subset at the declining phase or peak of the solar cycle. However, the Fe ix/x 171 Å and Fe xii 195 Å data yield a larger number of filaments than the Hα data of the SFC.     

Statistical Analysis of the Relationships among Coronal Holes,Corotating Interaction Regions,and Geomagnetic Storms

We have examined the relationships among coronal holes (CHs), corotating interaction regions (CIRs), and geomagnetic storms in the period 1996?–?2003. We have identified 123 CIRs with forward and reverse shock or wave features in ACE and Wind data and have linked them to coronal holes shown in National Solar Observatory/Kitt Peak (NSO/KP) daily He i 10?830 Å maps considering the Sun?–?Earth transit time of the solar wind with the observed wind speed. A sample of 107 CH?–?CIR pairs is thus identified. We have examined the magnetic polarity, location, and area of the CHs as well as their association with geomagnetic storms (Dst≤?50 nT). For all pairs, the magnetic polarity of the CHs is found to be consistent with the sunward (or earthward) direction of the interplanetary magnetic fields (IMFs), which confirms the linkage between the CHs and the CIRs in the sample. Our statistical analysis shows that (1) the mean longitude of the center of CHs is about 8°E, (2) 74% of the CHs are located between 30°S and 30°N (i.e., mostly in the equatorial regions), (3) 46% of the CIRs are associated with geomagnetic storms, (4) the area of geoeffective coronal holes is found to be larger than 0.12% of the solar hemisphere area, and (5) the maximum convective electric field E _y in the solar wind is much more highly correlated with the Dst index than any other solar or interplanetary parameter. In addition, we found that there is also a semiannual variation of CIR-associated geomagnetic storms and discovered new tendencies as follows: For negative-polarity coronal holes, the percentage (59%; 16 out of 27 events) of CIRs associated with geomagnetic storms in the first half of the year is much larger than that (25%; 6 out of 24 events) in the second half of the year and the occurrence percentage (63%; 15 out of 24 events) of CIR-associated storms in the southern hemisphere is significantly larger than that (26%; 7 out of 27 events) in the northern hemisphere. Positive-polarity coronal holes exhibit an opposite tendency.     

Do Solar Coronal Holes Affect the Properties of Solar Energetic Particle Events?

The intensities and timescales of gradual solar energetic particle (SEP) events at 1 AU may depend not only on the characteristics of shocks driven by coronal mass ejections (CMEs), but also on large-scale coronal and interplanetary structures. It has long been suspected that the presence of coronal holes (CHs) near the CMEs or near the 1-AU magnetic footpoints may be an important factor in SEP events. We used a group of 41 E≈ 20 MeV SEP events with origins near the solar central meridian to search for such effects. First we investigated whether the presence of a CH directly between the sources of the CME and of the magnetic connection at 1 AU is an important factor. Then we searched for variations of the SEP events among different solar wind (SW) stream types: slow, fast, and transient. Finally, we considered the separations between CME sources and CH footpoint connections from 1 AU determined from four-day forecast maps based on Mount Wilson Observatory and the National Solar Observatory synoptic magnetic-field maps and the Wang–Sheeley–Arge model of SW propagation. The observed in-situ magnetic-field polarities and SW speeds at SEP event onsets tested the forecast accuracies employed to select the best SEP/CH connection events for that analysis. Within our limited sample and the three analytical treatments, we found no statistical evidence for an effect of CHs on SEP event peak intensities, onset times, or rise times. The only exception is a possible enhancement of SEP peak intensities in magnetic clouds.     

Parameters of the Magnetic Flux inside Coronal Holes

The parameters of the magnetic flux distribution inside low-latitude coronal holes (CHs) were analyzed. A statistical study of 44 CHs based on Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)/MDI full disk magnetograms and SOHO/EIT 284?Å images showed that the density of the net magnetic flux, B _net, does not correlate with the associated solar wind speeds, V _x . Both the area and net flux of CHs correlate with the solar wind speed and the corresponding spatial Pearson correlation coefficients are 0.75 and 0.71, respectively. A possible explanation for the low correlation between B _net and V _x is proposed. The observed non-correlation might be rooted in the structural complexity of the magnetic field. As a measure of the complexity of the magnetic field, the filling factor, f(r), was calculated as a function of spatial scales. In CHs, f(r) was found to be nearly constant at scales above 2 Mm, which indicates a monofractal structural organization and smooth temporal evolution. The magnitude of the filling factor is 0.04 from the Hinode SOT/SP data and 0.07 from the MDI/HR data. The Hinode data show that at scales smaller than 2 Mm, the filling factor decreases rapidly, which means a multifractal structure and highly intermittent, burst-like energy release regime. The absence of the necessary complexity in CH magnetic fields at scales above 2 Mm seems to be the most plausible reason why the net magnetic flux density does not seem to be related to the solar wind speed: the energy release dynamics, needed for solar wind acceleration, appears to occur at small scales below 1 Mm.     

Investigation of the Coronal Magnetic Field Using a Type II Solar Radio Burst

The type II solar radio burst recorded on 13 June 2010 by the Hiraiso Solar Observatory Radio Spectrograph was employed to estimate the magnetic-field strength in the solar corona. The burst was characterized by a well-pronounced band splitting, which we used to estimate the density jump at the shock and Alfvén Mach number using the Rankine–Hugoniot relation. We convert the plasma frequency of the type II burst into height [R] in solar radii using an appropriate density model, and then we estimated the shock speed [V _s], coronal Alfvén velocity [V _A], and the magnetic-field strength at different heights. The relative bandwidth of the band splitting was found to be in the range 0.2?–?0.25, corresponding to a density jump of X=1.44?–?1.56, and an Alfvén Mach number of M _A=1.35?–?1.45. The inferred mean shock speed was on the order of V≈667 km?s^?1. From the dependencies V(R) and M _A(R) we found that the Alfvén speed slightly decreases at R≈1.3?–?1.5 R_⊙. The magnetic-field strength decreases from a value between 2.7 and 1.7 G at R≈1.3?–?1.5 R_⊙, depending on the coronal-density model employed. Our results are in good agreement with the empirical scaling by Dulk and McLean (Solar Phys. 57, 279, 1978) and Gopalswamy et al. (Astrophys. J. 744, 72, 2012). Our results show that the type II band-splitting method is an important tool for inferring the coronal magnetic field, especially when independent measurements are made from white-light observations.     

Connection of coronal holes with active regions

We have determined two qualitative parameters for 643 coronal holes (CHs). Parameter A characterizes the magnetic-field variation in CHs depending on the height. Parameter B characterizes the connection between the magnetic field in a CH and the polar field at the photosphere level. A comparison of these parameters corresponding to CH with and without active regions (ARs) has led to the following conclusions: the formation of AR in CH is a frequent phenomenon, since the former exist in every other CH for at least 1 day; unlike the case of a CH without an AR, the configuration of the magnetic field above the CH with an AR often changes with the height: two out of three CHs have the opposite sign of the magnetic field in photosphere, as compared to the sign of the polar magnetic field; the areas of ARs in CHs do not differ from those for many other ARs outside of CHs.     

Coronal Hole Influence on the Observed Structure of Interplanetary CMEs

We report on the coronal hole (CH) influence on the 54 magnetic cloud (MC) and non-MC associated coronal mass ejections (CMEs) selected for studies during the Coordinated Data Analysis Workshops (CDAWs) focusing on the question if all CMEs are flux ropes. All selected CMEs originated from source regions located between longitudes 15E?–?15W. Xie, Gopalswamy, and St. Cyr (2013, Solar Phys., doi: 10.1007/s11207-012-0209-0 ) found that these MC and non-MC associated CMEs are on average deflected towards and away from the Sun–Earth line, respectively. We used a CH influence parameter (CHIP) that depends on the CH area, average magnetic field strength, and distance from the CME source region to describe the influence of all on-disk CHs on the erupting CME. We found that for CHIP values larger than 2.6 G the MC and non-MC events separate into two distinct groups where MCs (non-MCs) are deflected towards (away) from the disk center. Division into two groups was also observed when the distance to the nearest CH was less than 3.2×10⁵ km. At CHIP values less than 2.6 G or at distances of the nearest CH larger than 3.2×10⁵ km the deflection distributions of the MC and non-MCs started to overlap, indicating diminishing CH influence. These results give support to the idea that all CMEs are flux ropes, but those observed to be non-MCs at 1 AU could be deflected away from the Sun–Earth line by nearby CHs, making their flux rope structure unobservable at 1 AU.     

3D Coronal Density Reconstruction and Retrieving the Magnetic Field Structure during Solar Minimum

Measurement of the coronal magnetic field is a crucial ingredient in understanding the nature of solar coronal phenomena at all scales. We employed STEREO/COR1 data obtained during a deep minimum of solar activity in February 2008 (Carrington Rotation CR 2066) to retrieve and analyze the three-dimensional (3D) coronal electron density in the range of heights from 1.5 to 4 R_⊙ using a tomography method. With this, we qualitatively deduced structures of the coronal magnetic field. The 3D electron-density analysis is complemented by the 3D STEREO/EUVI emissivity in the 195 Å band obtained by tomography for the same CR. A global 3D MHD model of the solar corona was used to relate the reconstructed 3D density and emissivity to open/closed magnetic-field structures. We show that the density-maximum locations can serve as an indicator of current-sheet position, while the locations of the density-gradient maximum can be a reliable indicator of coronal-hole boundaries. We find that the magnetic-field configuration during CR 2066 has a tendency to become radially open at heliocentric distances greater than 2.5 R_⊙. We also find that the potential-field model with a fixed source surface is inconsistent with the boundaries between the regions with open and closed magnetic-field structures. This indicates that the assumption of the potential nature of the coronal global magnetic field is not satisfied even during the deep solar minimum. Results of our 3D density reconstruction will help to constrain solar coronal-field models and test the accuracy of the magnetic-field approximations for coronal modeling.     

Visibility-Graph Analysis of the Solar Wind Velocity

We analyze in situ measurements of the solar wind velocity obtained by the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) and the Helios spacecraft during the years 1998?–?2012 and 1975?–?1983, respectively. The data mainly belong to solar cycles 23 (1996?–?2008) and 21 (1976?–?1986). We used the directed horizontal-visibility-graph (DHVg) algorithm and estimated a graph functional, namely, the degree distance (D), which is defined using the Kullback–Leibler divergence (KLD) to understand the time irreversibility of solar wind time-series. We estimated this degree-distance irreversibility parameter for these time-series at different phases of the solar activity cycle. The irreversibility parameter was first established for known dynamical data and was then applied to solar wind velocity time-series. It is observed that irreversibility in solar wind velocity fluctuations show a similar behavior at 0.3 AU (Helios data) and 1 AU (ACE data). Moreover, the fluctuations change over the phases of the activity cycle.     

Observations of Unresolved Photospheric Magnetic Fields in Solar Flares Using Fe i and Cr i Lines

The structure of the photospheric magnetic field during solar flares is examined using echelle spectropolarimetric observations. The study is based on several Fe i and Cr i lines observed at locations corresponding to brightest Hα emission during thermal phase of flares. The analysis is performed by comparing magnetic-field values deduced from lines with different magnetic sensitivities, as well as by examining the fine structure of I±V Stokes-profiles’ splitting. It is shown that the field has at least two components, with stronger unresolved flux tubes embedded in weaker ambient field. Based on a two-component magnetic-field model, we compare observed and synthetic line profiles and show that the field strength in small-scale flux tubes is about 2?–?3 kG. Furthermore, we find that the small-scale flux tubes are associated with flare emission, which may have implications for flare phenomenology.     

Relationship between the motion of matter in coronal holes and their evolution

We consider the evolution of a long-lived coronal hole (CH) from February to August 2002 in the zone φ = ?20°…+15°, L = 30°–35°. Active structures emerged in it several times over its lifetime. After their disappearance, the CH was restored to its original form. The Carrington rotation R1989 from May 12 to May 26, 2002, is considered in detail. The relative CH areas have been determined for this rotation from observations in the HeI 1083 nm line. Based on observations in the NiI 676.8 nm line (SOHO, MDI), we have found the periods of the line-of-sight velocity variations. The variations of these periods in CHs are qualitatively compared with those of the CH areas. The oscillation periods in photospheric CH layers have been found to correlate linearly with the CH areas in the chromosphere. For the interval of observations May 12–26, 2002, we have identified 52 sites in CHs for which the area variations in the HeI 1083 nm line were estimated. For times close to the observations in the HeI 1083 nm line, we have determined the average velocities of vertical motion of matter from MDI data. The CH growth and decay have been found to be accompanied, respectively, by upward and downward motions of matter at the photospheric level.     

Spectral Characteristics of Solar Flares in Different Chromospheric Lines and Their Implications

Using the spectral data of representative solar flares observed with the infrared detector system of the solar spectrograph at Purple Mountain Observatory, we study the spectroscopic characteristics of solar flares in the Hα, the Ca i i 8?542 Å, and the He i 10?830 Å lines in different phases and various locations of flares and discuss their possible implications coupled with space observations. Our results show that in the initial phase of a flare the Hα line displays a red shift only with no wide wing. Large broadenings of the Hα line are observed a few minutes after the flare onset within small regions of 3?–?5^′′ in both disk and limb flares with and without nonthermal processes. Far wings similar to those of damping broadening appear not only in the Hα line but in the He i 10?830 Å line as well in flares with nonthermal processes. Sometimes we even detect weak far-wing emission in the Ca i i 8?542 Å line in disk flares. Such large broadenings are observed in both the footpoints and the flare loop-top regions and possibly result from strong turbulence and/or macroscopic motions. Therefore, the so-called nonthermal wing of the Hα line profile is not a sufficient condition to distinguish whether nonthermal electrons are accelerated or not in a flare. The Ca i i 8?542 Å line shows lower intensity in the loop-top regions and higher intensity in the parts close to the solar surface. Emissions larger than nearby continuum in the He i 10?830 Å line are detected only in small regions with strong X-ray emissions and avoid sunspot umbrae.     

Testing the Reliability of Predictions of Far-Side Active Regions from Helioseismology Using STEREO Far-Side Observations of Solar Activity

We test the reliability of helioseismic far-side active-region predictions, made using Dopplergrams from both the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) and the Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG), by comparison with far-side observation of solar activity from the Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO). Both GONG and HMI produce seismic Carrington maps that show strong magnetic-field regions, labeling predictions of far-side active regions that have a probability ≥?70 %. By visual comparison of these prediction maps with STEREO extreme ultraviolet (EUV) Carrington maps, we determine whether or not solar activity, as evidenced as brightness in EUV, is observed at the predicted locations. We analyzed nine months of data from 2011 and 2012. For both GONG and HMI, we find that for approximately 90 % of the active-region predictions, activity/brightness is observed in EUV at the predicted location. We also investigated the success of GONG and HMI at predicting large active regions before they appear at the east limb as viewed from Earth. Of the 27 identified large east-limb active regions in the nine months of data analyzed, GONG predicted 15 (55 %) at least once within the week prior to Earth-side appearance and HMI predicted 13 (48 %). Based on the STEREO far-side EUV observations, we suggest that 9 of the 27 active regions were probably too weak to be predicted while on the far side. Overall, we conclude that HMI and GONG have similar reliability using the current data-processing procedures.     

Time – Distance Modelling in a Simulated Sunspot Atmosphere

In time?–?distance helioseismology, wave travel times are measured from the cross-correlation between Doppler velocities recorded at any two locations on the solar surface. However, one of the main uncertainties associated with such measurements is how to interpret observations made in regions of strong magnetic field. Isolating the effects of the magnetic field from thermal or sound-speed perturbations has proved to be quite complex and has yet to yield reliable results when extracting travel times from the cross-correlation function. One possible way to decouple these effects is by using a 3D sunspot model based on observed surface magnetic-field profiles, with a surrounding stratified, quiet-Sun atmosphere to model the magneto-acoustic ray propagation, and analyse the resulting ray travel-time perturbations that will directly account for wave-speed variations produced by the magnetic field. These artificial travel-time perturbation profiles provide us with several related but distinct observations: i) that strong surface magnetic fields have a dual effect on helioseismic rays?–?increasing their skip distance while at the same time speeding them up considerably compared to their quiet-Sun counterparts, ii) there is a clear and significant frequency dependence of both skip-distance and travel-time perturbations across the simulated sunspot radius, iii) the negative sign and magnitude of these perturbations appears to be directly related to the sunspot magnetic-field strength and inclination, iv) by “switching off” the magnetic field inside the sunspot, we are able to completely isolate the thermal component of the travel-time perturbations observed, which is seen to be both opposite in sign and much smaller in magnitude than those measured when the magnetic field is present. These results tend to suggest that purely thermal perturbations are unlikely to be the main effect seen in travel times through sunspots, and that strong, near-surface magnetic fields may be directly and significantly altering the magnitude and lateral extent of sound-speed inversions of sunspots made by time?–?distance helioseismology.     

Sensitivity of Selected Ba <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">ii</Emphasis>, Fe <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">i</Emphasis>, Fe <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">ii</Emphasis>, and Cr <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">i</Emphasis> Spectral Lines to Velocity in Quiet Solar Atmosphere

We examine the sensitivity of selected Ba?ii, Fe?i, Fe?ii, and Cr?i spectral lines to changes of the line-of-sight velocity by sharpness of their line profiles and response functions to line-of-sight velocity evaluated by the 1-D model of the quiet solar atmosphere in the LTE approximation. The set of selected lines includes the Ba?ii 4554 Å line, generally considered to be an excellent Doppler mapper. Our findings confirm earlier results showing that the sensitivity increases not only with wavelength, as anticipated from the Doppler relation, but mainly with the sharpness of line profiles given by the ratio of their depths and widths. The line Fe?i 5247 Å is the most sensitive in our set, whereas the Fe?i and Fe?ii infrared lines show very low sensitivity because of their large thermal widths. The line Ba?ii 4554 Å shows only moderate sensitivity due to its large width, given by a broad hyperfine structure and isotopic split. For the first time we identify a very promising and so far unknown Doppler mapper of the solar photosphere and low chromosphere, which is the line Ba?ii 6497 Å. Its sensitivity is comparable with the sensitivity of Fe?i 5247 Å and clearly surpasses the sensitivity of Ba?ii 4554 Å. The line Ba?ii 6497 Å offers many advantages, making it a highly recommendable choice for future studies of line-of-sight velocities in the photosphere and low chromosphere.     

Line-of-Sight Observables Algorithms for the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager</Emphasis> (HMI) Instrument Tested with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Interferometric Bidimensional Spectrometer</Emphasis> (IBIS) Observations

The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) instrument onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory produces line-of-sight (LOS) observables (Doppler velocity, magnetic-field strength, Fe i line width, line depth, and continuum intensity) as well as vector magnetic-field maps at the solar surface. The accuracy of LOS observables is dependent on the algorithm used to translate a sequence of HMI filtergrams into the corresponding observables. Using one hour of high-cadence imaging spectropolarimetric observations of a sunspot in the Fe i line at 6173 Å through the Interferometric Bidimensional Spectrometer installed at the Dunn Solar Telescope, and the Milne–Eddington inversion of the corresponding Stokes vectors, we test the accuracy of the observables algorithm currently implemented in the HMI data-analysis pipeline: the MDI-like algorithm. In an attempt to improve the accuracy of HMI observables, we also compare this algorithm to others that may be implemented in the future: a least-squares fit with a Gaussian profile, a least-squares fit with a Voigt profile, and the use of second Fourier coefficients in the MDI-like algorithm.     

Probing the Sunspot Atmosphere with Three-Minute Oscillations

We present a seismological method for probing the solar atmosphere above sunspot umbrae with three-minute oscillations. Our technique allows us to estimate both the vertical distance between atmospheric layers and the wave-propagation speed, without specifying any additional parameters, in particular, the phase speed of the wave or the emission formation heights. Our method uses the projected wave paths of slow magnetohydrodynamic waves that propagate through the atmospheric layers of different heights and are guided by the magnetic field. The length of the projected wave path depends upon the distance between the layers and the inclination angle of the magnetic field with respect to the line of sight, allowing us to estimate the distance between the layers from measured projected wave paths and the local magnetic-field vector. In turn, the wave-propagation delay registered at different heights allows for the calculation of the phase speed. We estimated the vertical distance between the emission layers at the temperature minimum (1600 Å) and transition region (304 Å), as well as the average phase speed above the sunspot umbrae, for three active regions. We found that the distance between the 1600 Å emission layer and the transition region above the sunspot umbrae lies in the range of 500?–?800 km. The average phase speed between these layers was found to be about 30 km?s^?1, giving a sound speed of 6 km?s^?1. The temperature between the layers has been roughly estimated as 3000 K and corresponds to the region of the temperature minimum. The results obtained are consistent with the semiempirical model of the sunspot-umbrae atmosphere by Fontenla et al. (Astrophys. J.707, 482, 2009).